Things can go wrong in a hurry - E46 M3 takes a dive off a cliff, video

There are few pleasures equivalent to having a drivers car and a beautiful twisty road. That is exactly the type of thing the driver in the video below is enjoying. as he takes his E46 M3 down a beautiful twisty cliff side road with a great view of the ocean. The problem is when one pushes it too far and this video shows the consequences. Now the driver is not exactly going balls out but it goes to show you do not have to be to lose it on a road you may lack familiarity with.

The driver simply takes a tight right hander poorly and understeers right off the road tumbling onto the cliffs below. The side impact airbag goes up immediately showing the level of sensitivity and safety the E46 M3 is built with. I'm not here to chastise this driver as I have done a very similar tumble also in an E46 M3 which gave its life to spare mine.

This video is a reminder that things can get ugly very quickly behind the wheel. It's best to save it for the track and you do not have to be going 10/10's to lose it although this guy had quite a brisk pace using both sides of the public road. Know your road, know your car, know your surroundings, know your limits, and always dial it back more than dialing it forward. If you do not, this can happen and you may not be so fortunate.

Now the driver is not exactly going balls out but it goes to show you do not have to be to lose it on a road you may lack familiarity with.

He's driving on a public road. The corner he steers into is a blind corner. Regardless on how familiar he could have been with that corner and if he may or may not had lost his car in that corner, if someone was standing there (maybe a broken down car/truck whatever) he would have NEVER been able to stop in time or evade (into oncoming traffic....). And probably killing himself and the persons in the near vicinity.....
I don't mind some nice driving on public roads, but driving THAT fast into blind corners is very very stupid.

It was amazing to me how quickly and well the side airbag deployed. I didn't know that's how they worked - did it detect the "drop" or the side force from hitting something we didn't see do you think?

This is testament to how well these cars are engineered - and how structurally sound they are. He is very lucky to be alive... Amazing.

I think the airbag deployed the second it realized it was over 45 degree angle....it deployed in midair lol.
If he was going faster he would have ended up in the drink...not good. Those rocks saved his ass.

Driving into the sun, going across the double yellow like that is def not cool.

He's driving on a public road. The corner he steers into is a blind corner. Regardless on how familiar he could have been with that corner and if he may or may not had lost his car in that corner, if someone was standing there (maybe a broken down car/truck whatever) he would have NEVER been able to stop in time or evade (into oncoming traffic....). And probably killing himself and the persons in the near vicinity.....
I don't mind some nice driving on public roads, but driving THAT fast into blind corners is very very stupid.

I think the airbag deployed the second it realized it was over 45 degree angle....it deployed in midair lol.
If he was going faster he would have ended up in the drink...not good. Those rocks saved his ass.

Driving into the sun, going across the double yellow like that is def not cool.

Question, when did the e46 m3 get side impact airbags? My window ended up cutting my forehead giving me a permanent scar. Reminds me of how stupid i was though.

He's lucky the river wasn't below. I lived in an area with very very similar roads. If you didn't know the roads, you had best not try and keep up. The difference, is the road side was a 50-100ft drop into a reservoir for a hydro electric dam.

Question, when did the e46 m3 get side impact airbags? My window ended up cutting my forehead giving me a permanent scar. Reminds me of how stupid i was though.

They have always had them. Theres one in the door panel and one in the A-pillar. And a small explosive charge on your seatbelt buckle that pulls your seatbelt tight against you to keep you from flying about.

They have always had them. Theres one in the door panel and one in the A-pillar. And a small explosive charge on your seatbelt buckle that pulls your seatbelt tight against you to keep you from flying about.